The Late Night Confessional
by ilovetvalot
Summary: Written for Prompt #6 of TV Prompt Challenge: Spongebob Squarepants "Night Light". In the depths of night, Reid confides one of his greatest fears to an unlikley source.


**The Late Night Confessional**

_**Prompt: Spongebob Squarepants - "Night Light"**_

Sweat dripped from his brow as the generic hotel room he laid in was pitched into darkness. Swallowing past the panicked lump he felt rising in his throat, Dr. Spencer Reid sank his teeth into his lower lip to try and stifle the whimper desperately trying to work its way past his lips.

Blast Derek Morgan and his pregnant sister.

Normally the easy-going black man would be sharing sleeping quarters with him. Morgan didn't have a problem with his need for a night light. And while the profiler had teased him for a lot of different things over the years, that had, thankfully, never been one of them.

It hadn't always been like this. In point of fact, his phobia was a fairly recent development. But, thanks to Tobias Henkel and the atrocities he'd suffered at the hands of that man's multiple personalities, he had a problem. A stupid juvenile problem.

Dr. Spencer Reid, brilliant child prodigy and genius with the eidetic memory, was afraid of the dark.

Terrified, actually.

And worse than that...he was sharing a room with the one person that he never wanted to reveal that embarrassing piece of information to.

David Rossi.

Shifting restlessly beneath the lightweight sheet draped over his hips, he inwardly groaned as the bedsprings creaked loudly, echoing in the otherwise silent room. Wincing at the noise his movements made, he head Rossi's deep sigh. And, naturally, that made him jump slightly, causing another obnoxious squeak in the still room.

"Kid," Dave asked gruffly, his voice literally floating through the nothingness, "are you gonna go to sleep or lie there tossing and turning all night?"

Squeezing his eyes shut in the darkened room, his cheeks heating, Spence said hoarsely, "I'm trying, Agent Rossi. Really, I am."

"What's wrong with your voice, Reid?" Dave asked suspiciously, turning his head toward the other bed, stiff linens rustling beneath the movement.

"M-my voice?" Spence asked, his voice choking as the pitchy blackness of the room caused another wave of fright to cascade over him, causing his slim body to quake in the twin bed.

"Yeah, Reid," Dave snapped impatiently, rubbing his tired eyes. "Your voice." Damn, he'd had about four hours of sleep in the last two days. Tonight was the first time since beginning this horrifying case that he'd even managed to make it to a bed, having passed out on the couch at the police station the previous night. All he wanted in the world right now was to slip into blessed oblivion. And apparently that one simple request was being denied by the presence of his new roommate.

"I...I'm..." Spencer faltered, struggling to form words as his fears multiplied and the blackness swelled.

"Spit it out, Reid," Rossi demanded tiredly, flopping his head back against the pillow.

"I'm afraid of the dark," Spencer confided in a rush of words, pressing a knuckle against his lips as he heard the tremors in his own words.

"What?" Dave asked, leaning up on one elbow as he peered across the bedroom at the small ball in the center of the other twin bed. Jesus, the poor guy had contorted himself into the fetal position, resting on his side.

"Please don't make me say it again," Reid mumbled into the pillow he clutched with desperate fingers.

"Oh, hell," Rossi groaned softly. He, like everyone on their team, had a soft spot for the younger man lying across from him. Unlike everyone else, Dave had also found himself more than a little attracted to the younger man. Forcing himself out of the bed, Dave crossed the room in two easy strides, dropping to sit beside the younger man on the narrow mattress. Lightly touching his shoulder, Dave frowned as Reid flinched.

"It's okay, Reid," Dave consoled him quietly. "We can turn on the light," he said, deftly flicking on the lamp on his nightstand, bathing the room in a soft glow.

"Didn't want to bother you," Reid panted as he slowly opened his eyes, relieved to be able to see again, the pale light welcoming him into its presence.

Furrowing his brows as he brushed the hair out of Spencer's eyes, his fingers sliding against his clammy forehead, Dave asked, "How long?"

"Long?" Spence echoed, staring up into Dave's surprisingly concerned eyes.

"Your fear. How long have you been scared of the dark?" Dave clarified gently, watching as Reid's breathing slowly evened out, his paler-than-normal cheeks slowly gaining a hint of color.

"A few years," Reid replied uncomfortably, unable to meet the older man's dark, probing eyes.

"The Henkel case?" Dave asked knowingly, raising one brow.

Nodding, Reid shot Dave a nervous look. "You know about that?"

Smiling grimly as he heard the sudden worry in those words, Dave tilted his head. "There's not much I don't know about you, Dr. Reid. Is it usually this bad?" he said, nodding toward Reid's still shaking hands.

"No," Reid murmured, clenching and unclenching his fingers, "Usually I use a night light," he admitted hesitantly.

"Makes sense," Rossi nodded. "Why didn't you use it tonight?" he asked. When Reid remained silent, Dave asked instead, "Where is it, Reid?"

"Go bag," Reid answered self-consciously, the words coming of his tongue in spite of his best efforts otherwise.

Reaching for the black leather messenger bag at the end of the bed, Dave located it easily. Rising from the bed, he quickly plugged it into the wall and flipped off the lamp. "You know," he said, turning to look back down at Reid, "you have nothing to be ashamed of. We all have our fears."

"I didn't want you to think...less of me," Reid confessed shyly, looking up at Dave through his lashes, the tiny light casting an upward glow on the older man's whiskered face. "It's embarrassing."

"It's who you are, Spencer. And it's no different from me being afraid of toy poodles," Rossi shared, frowning.

"Toy Poodles?" Reid asked with wide eyes, involuntarily smiling as he felt the tension in his shoulders slightly lessen.

"I don't care what anybody says," Dave began belligerently, crossing his arms over his bare chest. "Those are vicious animals that enjoy gnawing the flesh from a body's bones. Ex-wife number two had one that nearly mauled me to death," he shuddered dramatically, winking at the younger man.

"Now, I know you're lying. The way I've heard it, nothing terrifies David Rossi," Spencer laughed in spite of himself.

"You've been listening to the wrong people, kid," Dave chuckled, then took a moment to seriously examine the young genius' eyes. "You okay now?"

"I think so," Reid nodded, slowly relaxing.

"Still shaky?" Dave asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes on Reid.

"Maybe a little. But I'll be okay," Reid shrugged, slipping another pillow behind his shoulders. "It just takes me a few minutes to calm down after one of these panic attacks."

"I used to get them after Waco," Rossi confided, taking a firm step toward the small bed. "It used to help me to have someone in bed with me. Hell, I think my sister stayed with me for three weeks after I came home. Scoot over, Spence."

"You don't have to..." Reid began weakly, squinting at Rossi in the dim light as he automatically moved to his left when he lifted the covers.

"I know I don't, Spencer," Dave replied calmly, turning on his side and pulling Reid back against his warm chest. "I want to."

"You do?" Reid asked, disbelief coloring his words as his mind reeled at the sudden invasion of warmth around him.

"Reid, I think you know by now," Rossi began, anchoring an arm around Spencer's narrow waist, "that I never do anything that I don't wanna do. Just let yourself relax, okay?"

Sighing as he felt Rossi's warm breath fanning against the nape of his neck, Spencer whispered, "Agent Rossi?"

"I think you can call me Dave, Spencer," Rossi replied with a faint smile, rolling his eyes in the dark as he tugged the light bedspread up.

"Dave?" he tried again, the name seeming foreign on his tongue.

"Yeah, kid," Rossi answered softly, relaxing into the pillows as he stifled another yawn.

"You're a really nice man," Spencer said, slightly awed by the new knowledge.

"Just don't tell anybody," Rossi chuckled, dropping a light kiss against Reid's pajama covered shoulder without conscious thought.

And with a nod and a content smile, Reid closed his eyes. He'd never felt safer.

_**finis**_

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_**Author's Note:**_

_**Please forgive our extra long rambling today, but we have a lot to share. First, originally we planned to publish all our stories on Mondays. But after realizing we have ten ongoing works, we decided to split them up. So, we will publish five fics on Sundays and five fics on Mondays for the foreseeable future. As always, we will publish the odd oneshot in between, especially when we have notes to share with our readers regarding our forum.**_

_**For those following Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum, we have several announcements. First, we'd like to announce our interviews with the very talented authors Reidfanatic and ConfettiLeaves. Next, please **__**check out our mini-challenge…The Creative Reasons Challenge! Now is the time to put your creative talents to work and write a story depicting the events and/or emotions regarding JJ's departure. It can be a drabble, oneshot or multi-chapter featuring any characters you choose. For more info, check out our challenge thread on the "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum.**_

_**For those of you who want to keep updated on the new threads posted to the forum, you can subscribe by going to the forum page (the link is on my profile page), then clicking "Forum Subscription" in the upper right corner. We have new and exciting discussion threads and interviews, as well as our monthly challenges, planned for the future.**_

_**Again, we want to take this opportunity to thank anyone for reading, reviewing, alerting, and favoriting our stories. We truly appreciate hearing from each one of you.**_


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